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FAQ | Mailing List | Email | 888.464.1875
Winter travel poses its own challenges, but also comes with its own rewards. Chief among them is the ability to carry more cargo more comfortably than you normally would. The sled (or pulk) is one of those cargo force multipliers just like a bicycle trailer or a canoe. There are some really nice pulks for sale out there, as well as good resources for how to put together a very nice do it yourself pulk. This resource covers how to put together a "Plenty Good" pulk for around $65 and about a half an hour of time. What will the more expensive ones do that this one won't? We don't know, as the setup described here has always been plenty good for us.
Equipment list:
That's it. Nothing more to it than that. We like crossed traces because of how they track. Clip the front of the traces in somewhere on your pack or hipbelt. We like to clip them into grimlocs on the PALS on our day pack hipbelts. Aim the grimloc opening down so they'll release in a crash (like if you are skiing downhill, threading a little closely through trees, and end up on the opposite side of the tree as your pulk). For cargo carrying, we just use ratchet straps to secure dry bags and whatever else. Occasionally dress up the bottom with glide wax.
There are lots of ways to upgrade this basic setup. Use spray adhesive to affix a close cell pad to the bottom for kid comfort and cargo quietness. Make fancier traces. Make a cover. Put in perimeter lacing for lashing ease. Put runners on the bottom. put a brake on the back. All of these modifications are covered elsewhere in good detail so we won't repeat them here. However, the basic setup works very well for general freight duty. So well that we haven't felt the need to upgrade in any significant way over the course of 3 winters worth of use.
Have fun out there!

subset: commoncrawl


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Mark Stoffel, mandolinist with Chris Jones & The Night Drivers, is here on Mandolin Mondays this week with an original tune played on his trusty Gilchrist mandolin.
Originally from Munich, Germany, Mark recently became a US citizen and now lives in Southern Illinois. In addition to his work with the Night Drivers, Mark has also recorded and released his own solo CD with some creative original mandolin tunes and cover


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Secondhand-sourced silver bangle bracelet
For small wrists and hands only!
Only 1 left in stock
About Junket's Sterling + 925 Silver Jewelry:
We test all silver tone jewelry with a magnet before performing a visual inspection for marks. Marked silver will be advertised as such. In some cases, we may also list other items that present as silver when tested. Rather than risk damaging these items to determine what's inside, we've spent the better part of a decade learning how to distinguish the real stuff from the plated stuff.
In the case of unmarked sterling, should you choose to seek an appraisal upon receipt of your product, and should an appraiser scratch/file a portion of your item in order to determine the content (a necessary step for sterling), we would accept a return of the item and refund your purchase price.
Additional information
|0.19436 oz
|2.5 × 2.5 × 0.125 in


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- Employer
- Location
- Fredericksburg, VA
- Posted
- Jun 18, 2019
- Closes
- Jun 21, 2019
- Ref
- 158175627
- Function
- Food Service, Cook
- Industry
- Restaurant
- Career Level
- Experienced (Non-Manager)
- Hours
- Full Time
OverviewThe Cook serves our Guests in multiple capacities in the kitchen of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Restaurant, including Grill Cook, Prep Cook, and Backup Cook. The Cook always uses Cracker Barrel's recipes and methods of food preparation to prepare from scratch, home style recipes. The Cook has an opportunity to prepare sweet offerings from our fluffy buttermilk pancakes to savory slices of our hickory-smoked bacon to made from scratch Buttermilk Biscuits; all of our breakfasts are cooked to order by our talented Cooks across the country. Come join our team where you will have a chance to put your cooking talents to great use in a daily mission of "Pleasing People."ResponsibilitiesResponsibilities and essential job functions include but are not limited to the following:Please our guests by correctly preparing menu items to our high standards of professional cookingMeets company standards of quality, safety, cleanliness and hospitality in providing guests with the most satisfactory food possibleMaintains a calm demeanor during periods of high volume or unusual events to keep store operating to standard and to set a positive exampleFollows Cracker Barrel Old Country Store operational policies and procedures, including those for safety and security, to ensure the safety of all employees and guests during each shiftMaintains a clean and organized workspaceMaintains regular and punctual attendanceQualificationsQualifications:Be able to communicate with co-workers and managers effectivelyStand for long periods of timeReach and lift overhead up to 25 poundsWork in hot and cold temperature extremes subject to fluctuations for long periods of time.Work in environment where smoke, fumes, steam, and other airborne particles are presentWork around, handle, operate, and control hot equipment and products in a safe mannerWork at a pace consistent with changing business volume and demandsAbility to learn quicklyAbility to understand and carry out oral and written instructions and request clarification when neededStrong interpersonal skillsAbility to work as part of a teamAbility to build relationships In compliance with federal and state equal employment opportunity laws, qualified applicants are considered for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, national origin, age, marital status, medical condition, disability or any other class expressly protected by law. Qualified applicants are considered for employment according to the laws of the respective state of employment. If you feel this policy has been violated, you may report such instances to the Employee Relations Department online (-us/employee/ ) or toll free at 1 800-333-9566.


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Executive Summary
According to the National Council on Economic Education, 79 percent of Americans get their information about the economy from television. When the network news shows fail to provide context in economic stories or simply leave basic economic facts out of their reports, most Americans remain uninformed. Timothy Lamer, Director of the MRC's Free Market Project, identified five important economic facts that network reporters routinely ignore:
The wealthiest Americans pay most of the federal income taxes. Reporters often repeat claims that tax reform will mainly help the wealthiest in society, without providing context -- specifically that the top one percent of earners pay 29 percent of all income taxes, and the top 10 percent of earners pay 59 percent of all income taxes.
Government can harm the environment; free enterprise can help it. Reporters seem to have a set formula when it comes to environmental stories: The free market is always bad and government is always good. In fact, some federal programs encourage environmental destruction and some entrepreneurs preserve the environment.
Domestic social spending continues to soar. Many reporters claim that the recent budget deal between the White House and Congress imposes fiscal discipline on Washington. In fact, domestic social spending has increased more under the GOP Congresses than it did under Democrats, and will continue to do so.
Social Security, as currently structured, will bankrupt future generations. Many stories about the federal budget assume that Social Security problems can be ignored without causing serious economic problems in the near future. But some economists estimate that the payroll tax will have to double to keep the system solvent into the next century.
Government health care mandates increase the number of uninsured Americans. While reporters often call the number of Americans who lack health insurance a "crisis," they rarely look into its causes. One recent study concludes that government-mandated benefits raise the cost of insurance as much as 30 percent, causing many employers to drop coverage.
Missing Economic Fact #1:The Wealthiest Americans Pay Most of the Federal Income Taxes
"The President thinks [the GOP's] tax cuts are too generous to the wealthy," claimed ABC's John Cochran on the June 9, 1997 World News Tonight. Paula Zahn, on the June 30, 1997 CBS Evening News, said President Clinton "disagrees with key parts of the tax cut bills passed by the House and Senate because they give too many breaks to the wealthy and not enough to middle-income Americans."
Cochran and Zahn are not alone. Most network reporters repeat the claims of those who oppose tax reform without putting those claims into context. Specifically, they fail to provide basic facts about who pays taxes and how tax rates affect the distribution of the tax burden.
"According to IRS data," writes Daniel J. Mitchell, an economist at the Heritage Foundation, "the top one percent of income earners pay nearly 29 percent of the income tax burden, the top 10 percent pay more than 59 percent, and the top 20 percent pay more than 74 percent. The bottom 50 percent of income earners, on the other hand, pay less than five percent of income taxes."
Mitchell also calls a myth the claim that lower tax rates necessarily mean the rich will pay less. "This outcome depends on how much tax rates are reduced," he argues. "History indicates that the revenue-maximizing rate is less than 30 percent. In other words, when marginal rates are higher than 30 percent, the rich probably will pay more if rates are lowered. The reason: Because incentives to hide, shelter, and underreport income are reduced."
Mitchell points out that in the 1920s, the 1960s, and again in the 1980s, the wealthiest taxpayers shouldered more of the tax burden as their tax rates fell. For instance, "the Reagan years saw the top tax rate fall from 70 percent in 1980 to 28 percent in 1988. What happened to the rich? The top one percent went from shouldering 17.6 percent of the income tax burden in 1981 to paying 27.5 percent of the total in 1988. The top 10 percent saw their share climb from 48 percent in 1981 to over 57 percent in 1988."1 [1] Despite the large amount of time devoted to the tax issue by the networks, they rarely go into enough depth to provide basic information to viewers about the wealthy and taxes.
Sources For Journalists
Whom To Call For More Details On This Missing Fact
|Bruce Bartlett
|National Center for Policy Analysis
|(202) 628-6671
|J.D. Foster
|Tax Foundation
|(202) 783-2760
|Daniel Mitchell
|Heritage Foundation
|(202) 546-4400
|Stephen Moore
|Cato Institute
|(202) 842-0200
Missing Economic Fact #2: Government Programs Can Harm the Environment; Free Enterprise Can Help It
Early last year, backers of the federal sugar subsidy found themselves in an unusual position: their program was criticized in a major media outlet. "Strict quotas on cheaper foreign sugar maintain the support price levels," wrote New York Times reporter Eric Schmitt, "which critics say benefit a small number of wealthy plantation owners and encourage overproduction in environmentally sensitive areas like the Florida Everglades."2 [1]
Schmitt is virtually alone in the news media. Other reporters simply assume that when it comes to the environment, free enterprise is bad and government is good. Print journalists rarely, and network journalists never, report on how some large federal programs are environmentally destructive, as well as burdensome to taxpayers and consumers.
Jonathan Tolman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute argues that the federal peanut program, for instance, harms the environment. By allotting quotas by county, the government ensures that "peanuts are grown year after year in the same handful of counties and nowhere else. In some regions this means that extensive quantities of pesticides are used." Tolman reports, for example, that government quotas favor Georgia, even though "peanuts grown in Georgia use 13 pounds of pesticide per acre, while those grown in Texas require only three pounds per acre."3 [1]
Network news viewers probably are also unaware that free enterprise can be pro-green, despite an array of private, for-profit efforts to protect the environment. Terry L. Anderson and Donald R. Leal of the Political Economy Research Center say that "enviro-capitalists" are a "new breed of environmental entrepreneurs," who use "the tools of capitalism instead of command-and-control tactics" in order "to preserve open space, develop wildlife habitat, and save endangered species." Anderson and Leal point out that the International Paper Company, for example, leases land in its Southern U.S. timber holdings for hunting and fishing, which has become an important source of profits for IP. They also note that a South African eco-tourism company gave landholders there a stake in environmental protection by making them shareholders in the company. This, in turn, created "large habitats for African wildlife, allowing wild animals to replace the cattle and crops that previously occupied the land."
"Private property rights and free markets have contributed mightily to our economic wealth," Anderson and Leal write. "What few realize -- especially in Washington, D.C. -- is that they can contribute just as mightily to our environmental wealth."4 [1] Perhaps because reporters haven't told them.
Sources For Journalists
Whom To Call For More Details On This Missing Fact
|Terry L. Anderson or Donald R. Leal
|Political Economy Research Center
|(406) 587-9591
|Jerry Taylor
|Cato Institute
|(202) 842-0200
|Jonathan Tolman
|Competitive Enterprise Institute
|(202) 331-1010
Missing Economic Fact #3: Domestic Social Spending Continues to Soar
During budget negotiations between the White House and Congress earlier this year, CBS correspondent Wyatt Andrews told viewers that President Clinton had "a budget plan that promises lower federal taxes, cuts in spending, and a balanced budget in five years, and that's the proposal from the President, a Democrat."
From this story and almost all other reporting on this year's budget deal, one would think that Congress and the White House were imposing discipline on the federal budget and finally making difficult choices. One would be wrong.
"Despite the dramatic decline in the budget deficit in recent years," reports Stephen Moore of the Cato Institute, "federal social spending is now at record levels both in real dollars and as a share of national output." Specifically, Moore notes that in "the past ten years federal domestic expenditures have risen by 34 percent after inflation. Total nondefense outlays now consume 17.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), up from 15 percent of GDP in the 1970s and ten percent in the 1960s."
Republicans in Congress have done nothing to slow this growth, either. According to Moore, "In their first three budgets (FY 1996-1998), the Republicans have increased domestic spending by $183 billion compared to a $155 billion increase in the three years prior to GOP control of Congress."5 [1] Furthermore, Bruce Bartlett of the National Center for Policy Analysis writes that because of additional spending on health and welfare in last summer's budget agreement, "the federal budget deficit next year actually will be higher than it would have been without the budget deal."6 [1] Both Bartlett and Moore observe that the domestic spending cuts in the deal are all conveniently put off until 2002, when there will be a different President and Congress, and therefore are not binding.
So how has the federal budget deficit fallen so precipitously? Moore points out that almost "all of the reduction in the budget deficit over the past decade has been attributable to the 'peace dividend' reductions in the military budget. Pentagon expenditures have fallen by $100 billion and three percentage points of GDP since the height of the Reagan Cold War buildup -- almost exactly the same amount that the budget deficit has fallen."7 [1]
For reporters to portray Congress and the President as skinflints, when only one part of the federal budget (defense) is growing smaller, is simply inaccurate.
Sources For Journalists
Whom To Call For More Details On This Missing Fact
|Scott Hodge
|Heritage Foundation
|(202) 546-4400
|Stephen Moore
|Cato Institute
|(202) 842-0200
|Liz Tobias
|Citizens for a Sound Economy
|(202) 783-3870
Missing Economic Fact #4: Social Security, as Currently Structured, Will Bankrupt Future Generations
During this past year's budget negotiations, Congress and the White House focused on achieving a balanced budget by the year 2002. Such a focus allowed them to not touch politically sensitive entitlement programs whose costs are set to explode shortly after 2002. Since they are politicians, this is understandable. What's not understandable is that reporters, for the most part, let them get away with it. The overwhelming majority of budget stories this year have simply ignored the catastrophic futures of Social Security and Medicare.
Instead, they promoted the budget deal using the same language as politicians. For example, Paula Zahn, on the May 3 CBS Evening News cheerfully announced that "the forecast looks good for the breakthrough budget deal to balance the budget by the year 2002." Two days earlier, Dan Rather had called the deal "a possible legislative landmark." Two ABC reporters, John Cochran and Kevin Newman, said the agreement between the two parties was "historic," with Newman saying that "it looks like plenty of bipartisan good will in Washington." And NBC's Tom Brokaw heralded the "breakthrough deal" as the "best demonstration of bipartisan spirit since the Gulf War in the capital."
But none of these reporters were skeptical enough of both parties' glorious claims to point out that the Social Security Administration admits Social Security will begin running deficits by about 2011. As Stephen Moore of the Cato Institute argues, even "that may be an overly optimistic assessment. In four of the last six reports of the [Social Security Administration's] trustees, the number crunchers have had to fast-forward the date when Social Security starts losing money." According to Moore, "Social Security has an unfunded long-term liability of roughly $5.5 trillion -- which is larger than the entire national debt." He also points out that in "1950 there were 17 workers for every retired person. Today there are three. By 2030 there will be just two." This means that to "keep the system solvent at the current benefit levels (along with Medicare) would require the [payroll] tax rate to rise from 15 percent to as much as 30 percent."8 [1] Either that or it's back to enormous deficits.
This is a serious news story, but instead of reporting it most reporters were busy calling an agreement which left entitlements unreformed "a breakthrough budget deal" and "a legislative landmark" and "an historic agreement."
Sources For Journalists
Whom To Call For More Details On This Missing Fact
|Naomi Lopez
|Institute for Socioeconomic Studies
|(914) 428-7400
|Stephen Moore or Michael Tanner
|Cato Institute
|(202) 842-0200
|Liz Tobias
|Citizens for a Sound Economy
|(202) 783-3870
Missing Economic Fact #5: Government Health Care Mandates Increase the Number of Uninsured Americans
Viewers of the October 20 NBC Nightly News were greeted by Tom Brokaw, in his introduction to that evening's first story, telling them that "American health care is in crisis, and it's only getting worse fast." In the ensuing report, correspondent Robert Hager said that one of the problems in U.S. health care is "the number of Americans with no health insurance is greater than ever -- 41 million uninsured now; that number growing by an additional one million a year."
The problem of uninsured Americans has been a constant theme in health care reporting this decade. But as with NBC's Hager, few reporters actually attempt to explain why the number of uninsured Americans seems to grow by the year.
One reason: misguided government regulation. "For more than 30 years, state legislatures have passed laws driving the cost of health insurance higher," explain John C. Goodman and Merrill Matthews Jr. in a National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) report. "Known as mandated health insurance benefit laws, they force insurers, employers and managed care companies to cover -- or at least offer -- specific providers or procedures not usually included in basic health care plans." They note that "while there were only seven state-mandated benefits in 1965, there are nearly 1,000 today," including requirements for "such non-medical expenses as hairpieces, treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, pastoral and marriage counseling."
Most importantly, these mandates have produced some unintended consequences. Goodman and Matthews cite a National Bureau of Economic Research survey which "found that the cost of mandated benefits is usually borne by employees in the form of reduced wages, reduced work hours or loss of employment." Their own analysis, prepared for NCPA by the actuarial firm Milliman & Robertson, finds that the 12 most common mandates together "increase the cost of insurance by as much as 30 percent." This causes some small businesses to cancel their employees' insurance policies, increasing the nation's pool of uninsured workers.
Goodman and Matthews point out that the federal government has recently taken up this practice, imposing "two mandates that affect health insurance policies nationwide." These two "may not increase the costs of health insurance significantly but, as in the states, once the door is open every special interest will hurry through to besiege the legislature."
"When the legislators succumb and the dust settles," they conclude, "health insurance will cost more, employers and individuals will cancel more policies and Congress will face a growing uninsured 'crisis' -- a crisis largely of its own making."9 [1]Responsible reporters will include such arguments in their stories about health care policy.
Sources For Journalists
Whom To Call For More Details On This Missing Fact
|John C. Goodman or Merrill Matthews Jr.
|National Center for Policy Analysis
|(214) 386-6272
|Michael Cannon
|Citizens for a Sound Economy
|(202) 783-3870
1) Mitchell, Daniel J., "Class Warfare Tax Policy: Myth and Reality," Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 1131, July 18, 1997. (www.heritage.org [2])
2) Schmitt, Eric, "House Vote Keeps Peanut and Sugar Price Supports," The New York Times, February 29, 1996, p. A19.
3) Tolman, Jonathan, "Federal Agriculture Policy: A Harvest of Environmental Abuse," Competitive Enterprise Institute's Environmental Studies Program, August, 1995. (www.cei.org [3])
4) Anderson, Terry L. and Leal, Donald R., "The Rise of the Enviro-Capitalists," The Wall Street Journal, August 26, 1997, p. A16. (www.perc.org [4])
5) Moore, Stephen, "GOP Budget Revolution: Promises Made, Promises Broken," Cato Institute Policy Analysis No. 281, September 2, 1997. (www.cato.org [5])
6) Bartlett, Bruce, "Back Home Explaining the 'Dream Deal'," The Washington Times, August 15, 1997, p. A16.
7) Moore, op. cit.
8) Moore, Stephen, "Solving the Social Security Paradox," paper presented to Association of Private Enterprise Education, Washington, D.C., April 13, 1997. (www.cato.org [5])
9) Goodman, John C. and Matthews Jr., Merrill, "The Cost of Health Insurance Mandates," National Center for Policy Analysis Brief Analysis No. 237, August 13, 1997. (www.ncpa.org [6])


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What in the world do you get a gal like Miley Cyrus for her birthday?
How about a pig?!
At least, that's what PETA is gifting Liam Hemsworth's 20-year-old bride-to-be in honor of her big day. The animal org has rescued a four-legged friend named Nora to celebrate Cyrus' dedication to animal rights.
U.S. & World
Miley checks out Broadway with her family just days before her 20th birthday!
"PETA knew that sponsoring a rescued pig was the perfect birthday present for a young woman who spends so much time encouraging others to help animals," PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman says. "From promoting animal adoption to speaking up for cows who suffer on dairy farms, Miley never stops letting her millions of fans know what they can do to make the world a kinder place."
In addition to pet piggy Nora, PETA is recognizing the donation page created by Cyrus' fans in honor of her 20th birthday, which helps raise money for the charities Starkey and Saving Spot.
Congrats Miley (and Nora)!


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Most of the Core 2 range has fallen to the lure of DDR3, but they can still play just as nice with DDR2. With that in mind, we've looked at a 775 board for each RAM type, and the MSI X48 Platinum is the DDR3 representative.
The SiSoft Sandra memory bandwidth test handily illustrates that while AMD's platform doesn't quite have Core 2's raw punch, its onboard memory controller still provides an edge.
This DDR3 board has a small bandwidth lead over the DDR2 Foxconn P45AL, but other than that the scores are nigh-on level – proof that there's no need to upgrade to DDR3 unless you're throwing an i7 into the mix.
Its stature as a robust home for higher-end Core 2s is intact. Sadly, it's no longer future-proof.


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At least that is what I learned when I moved from Texas to Oklahoma. Now it is even more true! A federal judge in San Antonio today struck down the ban on marriage equality, ruling "rational relation to a legitimate government purpose."
"One of the court's main responsibilities is to ensure that individuals are treated equally under the law. Equal treatment of all individuals under the law is not merely an aspiration it is a constitutional mandate," said Garcia.
"Supreme Court precedent prohibits states from passing legislation born out of animosity against homosexuals, has extended constitutional protection to the moral and sexual choices of homosexuals, and prohibits the federal government from treating state-sanctioned opposite-sex marriages and same-sex marriages differently," he said.
Enforcement of the decision is stayed on appeal so no one can get married yet and it is expected it will be appealed next to federal court in New Orleans.
With the win on trans marriages recently and this, things are looking on up and up for GLBT people in the state. Though we still don't have employment discrimination legislation.
Via CNN


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Is it an urban myth? Can the Internet – a place where one can procrastinate with for hours on end – actually help increase productivity if you want it to? In fact, with the right selection of apps, Web services, and good habits, you can digitize your to-do list to make your life easier to tackle.
Sync your Gmail with your phone
Got a smartphone? Gmail is a great way to get everything you need to do in one place, and take it on the go when you have to. Sync your account with your smartphone, and the Calendar app can update with all the events you have created whether on the Web or on your phone along with contacts you've added on the list. This is also a great way to back up your contact data in case you have troubles with your phone and have to factory reset it. When you have everything on the Web and phone, you can edit your appointments anywhere, anytime – and optionally set your phone with an alarm reminder. The color-coding tabs on Google Calendar is also a good option for those who want to sync calendars up with other users, or organize meetings by type.
Post-it Notes are so last decade
Writing down notes might help you remember things better, but those little square sticky papers are also easy to misplace. Keep your notes and to-do lists in one place using a myriad of beautiful apps, all designed to help you get things done in a friendly user interface. Some of our favorites include Astrid, which helps you create checklists that you can share with friends or family members, and Wunderlist if you prefer a prettier interface.
Clear is also one of the strongest new contenders, with a colorful screen that lets you swipe things away on your iPhone when you've accomplished the task. If you want a solid note-taking app, you can always look to the classic Evernote, which will soon come out with an accommodating Moleskine smart notebook so you can jot down notes, take a picture of it, and store it in Evernote.
Remember your scanner?
I'll be the first to admit I haven't touched a scanner since class projects in school, but this technology has evolved. Nowadays, scanners come in all sort of portable sizes to help you scan business cards, recipes, and receipts to keep them organized without cluttering your desk drawers. NeatDesk is one gadget that's made for the purpose, with a minimalist design to match any home office.
If you don't want to invest the big bucks, Google Goggles is also a nice little app that allows you to take a photo of a business card with your phone and it will recognize the name, number, address, and email before you add the contact.
Manage your expenses mobily
You don't sign up for a credit card, home, or cellphone service on the same day of every month, so we're willing to bet your utility bills come at pretty random times of the month. Missing bill payments due dates is the quickest way to make an unnecessary expense, which in turn ruins your credit and savings account. Mint is a great expense manager app that syncs up with your bank accounts to let you know how much money you're spending, on what category of things, and it comes with a bill payment manager to remind you of when things are due. You can set balance limits on categories, such as not letting yourself spend more than $30 on fast food per month, to help curb the little expenses and add to a better money managing habit.
Editors' Recommendations
- Bye Bye Wunderlist: The best to-do apps for Android and iOS
- How to use Google Assistant, plus all the 'OK, Google' commands you need to know
- The best Android apps (September 2020)
- The best videoconferencing apps for 2020
- The best educational apps for Android and iOS


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Hang Gliders
2nd Hand Gliders & Gear
0 items
This deposit will let you book your rigid wing glider in to the shop for repair, where we will assess the glider and let you know what work will need doing, and what it should cost.
Unfortunately we cannot provide a cost estimate for the repairs here as the price is dependant on the labour involved, which can vary quite significantly for different jobs.
Carbon fibre laminates are constructed from multiple layers of stiff carbon fibres, set in a matrix of epoxy resin that is then cured in a high-pressure oven. They provide excellent strength and rigidity for little weight, making them particularly useful in aircraft design.
However the laminates are quite brittle which makes them rather susceptible to impact damage. The spars and ribs on hang gliders can easily crack or break on a rough landing, requiring a proper repair.
Most carbon repairs involve cleaning and then applying a patch of reinforcement to the cracked or broken area. Some pilots may have performed similar repairs to car bodywork using glass-fibre kits and may be tempted to try and fix the carbon part themselves.
At Avian we have been working with carbon fibre for many years and have sometimes had to re-repair some very dodgy DIY fixes. We would always recommend that pilots get a professional repair instead, for several reasons.
The first, obviously, is safety. Composite laminates are severely weakened by cracks, even those that are barely visible, and a good repair is vital for safety. At Avian we use aviation-quality materials (the same as those used to construct the glider) and techniques (vacuum bagging for instance) to ensure a well consolidated join with optimal strength. Without this equipment any DIY repair will most likely come out weaker and with a lower quality finish.
The second is that many parts must be accurately measured and aligned to preserve the flight performance of the glider. For instance, each rib has its incidence set by hand at the factory as part of the glider's setup. Preserving this state of trim requires careful measurement with the right equipment.
Thirdly, a good repair should mean that the damage has a minimal effect on the resale value of your glider. Rigid wing hang gliders are a significant investment for any pilot, and a poor repair can severely affect the glider's value should you want to sell it.


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The Lexus GS platform has historically been the preferred "luxury" car for import enthusiasts to build. As much as people dreamed about modding the bigger, more extravagant Lexus LS or Infiniti Q45, they just weren't remotely affordable to the 18-25 demographic in the early 2000s. Back then, if you wanted to build a luxury Japanese vehicle, it was the Lexus GS. The GS was still expensive, but the first-generation chassis was readily available, and if you saved up a couple extra bucks you might have just found yourself in the second-generation JZS160. These were the cars that helped many transition over from traditional Hondas and Nissans into the Japanese "VIP" world. In Japan, the JZS160 chassis was quite popular, and, as such, aftermarket-tuning companies offered a variety of products. The allure was that the Japanese counterpart carried with it Toyota's famed 2JZ-GTE turbo powerplant, essentially making it a sedan version of the Supra. A luxury car with power to boot really appealed to enthusiasts who wanted a little bit of everything.
In North America, we weren't as lucky. The GS was offered in 300 and 400 trim levels, none having the twin-turbo GTE motor. Instead, we were given a 4.0L V-8 motor. While it was cool to tell everyone you had a V-8, it still didn't compare to the cool factor of saying you had a twin-turbo sedan. Still, the GS was a popular car because it had potential due to the availability of parts from Japan. You could even do the 2JZ-GTE swap if you wanted to, but it wasn't a cheap swap. To the enthusiasts looking to buy a luxury-based vehicle, the GS was like the Hondas and Nissans they modded before. They were more expensive, of course, but you could get parts from Japan and potentially perform an engine swap down the road. It was sporty and relatable to your friends too—not just a car that was driven by old people.
Now, VIP style has become a household name, and it seems more and more people are getting into building luxury Japanese vehicles. Even the platforms that were once thought to be unattainable have become more affordable with age, so you see a lot of the younger crowd cruising around in cars that many of us 30-and-overs would have only fantasized about in our youth. The JZS160 is considered an old car now but has maintained its popularity through the years. If anything, it is considered the "Civic of the VIP scene" because of its popularity and how often you see them modified.
Justin Wallace is one of those 30-somethings who always had a fascination with the second-generation GS chassis. He spent much of his younger years tinkering with a Honda and a number of different Nissans before arriving at the decision to purchase his Lexus four years ago. As most stories go, Justin never had any intentions to do anything to the car—he just couldn't stop himself. "I've never kept any of my cars stock," he says. "I don't think I ever will either. I just have this obsession with altering every car that I own. It's an addiction. I originally bought this (GS300) as a daily driver, not really as a project. To me, it was the perfect mix of luxury and sportiness."
"Everything just snowballed the instant I decided to do anything to the GS," Justin says. "I just wanted wheels at first, but you can't do wheels without suspension. And once you get wheels and suspension you might as well add a body kit. After the exterior is finished, you might as well change up the interior, right?"
A traditional VIP-themed build is similar to a more traditional tuner build. The only difference is you concentrate more on aesthetics and suspension before you even think about doing anything to the engine bay. In fact, Justin's engine compartment in his Lexus has yet to be altered in any way. There is an engine swap in the plans eventually, but he kicked off his build with a set of staggered 20-inch Trafficstar STR wheels. VIP builds often feature huge, "big boy" wheels and getting the car as low to the ground as possible, eliminating any semblance of wheel gap. To tuck the 20s under the wheelwells, Justin opted for an Air Force Suspension air suspension setup. The dual air compressors and four 'bags at each end allow the car to go up and down at his discretion. Being that this GS300 is his daily driver, the suspension kit gives him the ability to get into steep driveways while still being able to pancake the chassis at a standstill. Tucking 11-inch-wide wheels in the rear proved to be a problem, as the rear quarters buckled when the car was planted.
"I couldn't just leave the rear fenders damaged so I took it to a local body shop to have them reshape them," Justin says. "Once the car was there, I couldn't help myself. I ended up buying a new aero kit for it and had them repaint the entire car in Piano Black."
The sides and rear that Justin chose to go with are from a popular Japanese VIP tuning parts manufacturer known simply as Admiration. If you don't recognize the front bumper, you aren't alone. Even a GS aficionado would have a difficult time identifying the front bumper, because it is a custom piece created by his paint shop, Fusion Auto. Added soon after were more subtle touches from Junction Produce that improve the overall appearance of his JZS160.
Inside the lavish confines of his Lexus is where he takes the most pride in his build. VIP builds don't see extensive work in the engine compartment, instead builds like Justin's have interiors that are very in-depth. He even went as far as to remove all of the interior trim pieces that were originally woodgrain from the factory and had them sent overseas to Asia where they were re-created in a custom silver carbon-fiber finish. The rest of the black interior is adorned in Japanese indulgence, featuring goods from Garson D.A.D. Hidden neatly in the factory ashtray position is the Dakota Digital controller that provides him with full ride height adjustability. The trunk of this daily driver features a false floor enclosure that exposes his twin 12-inch Alpine subwoofers, amplifier, and dual Viair compressors.
The JZS160 platform may be everywhere these days, but they still retain the luxury and opulence that was imagined when they were first introduced. Sure they may be cheaper now but the lower price tag provides enthusiasts with the opportunity to reinvent this luxury-sports sedan in their own image. Enthusiasts like Justin are doing it just right. He's taken a car that we never thought we could own when we were 15 and made us forget that many of these cars are now a decade-and-a-half old themselves.
Behind The Build
Justin Wallace
Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Build Time.
4 years
Anything car related
"I wanted something comfy and reliable as a daily driver."
'00 Lexus GS300 (JZS160)
Engine Toyota 3.0L 2JZ-GE
Suspension Air Force shocks, airbag kit; AccuAir VU4 solenoid valve unit; Dakota Digital height and pressure controller; dual Viair 444cc air compressors; FIGS 17mm roll center adapter; SPC adjustable front upper control arms; TC Sportline adjustable rear upper control arms
Brakes OEM Lexus LS400 front brake calipers; StopTech cross-drilled/slotted brake rotors, stainless steel brake lines
Wheels/Tires Front: 20x9 Trafficstar STR, 225/35ZR20 Hankook Ventus V12 Evo; rear: 20x11 Trafficstar STR, 255/30ZR20 Hankook Ventus V12 Evo
Exterior Fusion Auto custom front bumper; Admiration Createur side skirts, rear lip; Junction Produce trunk spoiler, roof spoiler, billet front grille; Honda AP2 exhaust tips; JDM Aristo window visors; Grazio & Co. black chrome emblem set, black chrome trunk garnish; Monarch LED license plate laps, mirror housing, blue wide angle mirrors, puddle lighting system, crystal smoked front side markers; Braga Type-3 LED smoked taillights
Interior Custom LED illuminated doorsills; Garson D.A.D custom front table with LED tunnel, Luxury crystal shift knob, Luxury mirror, mink crystal chain, Luxury crystal starter ring, Velvet Frill curtains, monogram-type leather seat covers, monogram-type door inserts, Luxury neck pad, Luxury cushion, Luxury crystal coaster set, Luxury two-way table ring, coaster light kit; custom silver carbon-fiber door panels, center console, ashtray, steering wheel; Kouki steering wheel airbag, chrome shifter bezel, gauge cluster bezel
Electronics Pioneer AVIC-X930BT head unit; custom trunk enclosure; Alpine MRD-M500 mono-block amplifier, MRV-F540 4-channel amplifier, SPR-50C 5-inch Type-R component speakers, SWR-1221D 12-inch Type-R subwoofers; Lexus ES250 back-up camera
Gratitude "Fusion Auto; Titanium Auto; Sounds good; Elite Auto Style"


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We tried a new recipe the other day and it was a big success! It involves making the polenta at least one day ahead, but it was worth it. The little secret is the hidden applewood- smoked bacon lining the nests. It gives a smokey flavor to the whole dish.
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1/4 cup minced scallions
• 3 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup of course yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano
• 1 Tbs fresh thyme, minced
• 20 slices of bacon, preferably applewood-smoked
• 6 oz grated mexican cheese blend, divided
• 6 oz grated gouda, divided
• 8 large eggs
• 1/4 cup sliced scallions
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
One or two days before serving make the Polenta
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add scallions and sauté just until limp.
- Add the water and salt and bring to a boil.
- Gradually whisk in the corn meal and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer until thick and creamy, 10-14 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Stir in Parmesan and 1 Tbs fresh thyme. Season with salt & fresh ground pepper.
- Cool to room temperature then cover and refrigerate at least overnight or for up to 2 days.
To make the baked eggs
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Heat one or two large skillets over medium heat and add bacon. Fry until just brown but still pliable- not crisp!
- Drain on paper towels and cool enough to handle.
- Line the sides of eight Ramekins with two slices of bacon each forming a collar. Put 1/2 slice of bacon in the bottom of each Ramekin.
- Put about 1/3 cup of polenta into each Ramekin, pressing into the bottom and up the sides to form a nest.
- Mix the grated cheeses in a bowl and sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese in each Ramekin.
- Crack one egg into the center of each "nest".
- Sprinkle with remaining cheese, scallions, thyme and black pepper.
- Place Ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet and bake about 23 minutes or just until the egg whites are almost set.
- Let eggs stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving. They will continue to cook.


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True Education Brings Hope
On the first day of 2012, Pope Benedict XVI marked the 45th World Day of Peace by urging the faithful and all educators to instill in the young "a profound sense of justice with respect for their neighbor."
Media outlets covered elements of his address, but few stories did justice to his rich, holistic vision — perhaps because he stressed the need to match youthful dreams for a better world with an adherence to Christian faith and moral absolutes.
After a year in which the now stymied "Occupy Wall Street" movement expressed an inchoate anger of the 99% with the privileges of the 1%, the Pope reminds us that passion alone cannot change the world.
Moreover, this shepherd's articulation of inconvenient truths serves as a wake-up call for Catholics who have remained on the sidelines, allowing others to define the needs, principles and goals of Americans weakened by the economic crisis and pessimistic about the future.
The Holy Father encouraged educators to instill a capacity for "peaceful coexistence."
This part of his counsel will find ready agreement across a broad spectrum of opinion. After all, who is against "peaceful coexistence"?
But just as the Occupy Wall Street effort lost traction as it failed to articulate common principles — perhaps because its leaders feared that an approved platform would fuel divisions — so any human effort fails when it lacks a clear mission and purpose.
In the United States, the education of the young, the transmission of skills and knowledge, is typically conducted in a spiritual and moral vacuum that ignores questions about our purpose as human beings and our mission on earth.
But in his Jan. 1 address, the same Pope who warned about the "dictatorship of relativism" notes that an increasingly dominant "culture of relativism raises a radical question: Does it still make sense to educate? And, then, to educate for what?"
Human hope and a desire to serve others cannot survive on a thin diet of unspecified "tolerance" and "peace." Indeed, the 20th century offers a salutary reminder of the many failed efforts to resist war and secure peace.
For Benedict, a common commitment to truth and reason builds bridges that connect disparate cultures, but faith in Christ provides the only true foundation for a sustainable hope.
For Catholics, and for many families, an education for peace and justice begins at home, where adults model "peaceful coexistence, mutual respect, dialogue and understanding," as the Pope explains.
Thus, societies that uphold the rights and stability of the family advance the work of social justice and peace.
Catholic schools, unlike their public counterparts, can build upon the experience of the domestic Church by explaining the connection between our human hopes and the painful need for sacrifice and perseverance.
"Every pathway of authentic religious formation guides the person, from the most tender age, to know God, to love him and to do his will," Benedict stated. "God is love; he is just and peaceable, and anyone wishing to honor him must first of all act like a child following his father's example."


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Files / Releases / jCore Server
Wed, 29 Jun 2011 08:36:26 BST by pijulius
jCore Server is the core of the whole system. Think of it as a library for your CMS. Learn more.
Updated (0.9): Separated pages from menu items, added Update manager, Module manager, Template multiple layouts, IPv6 compatibility, Mobile browser detection for blocks, Coupon codes for shopping cart and a lot more.
Upgrade from 0.8 to 0.9
Sun, 03 Jul 2011 23:57:44 BST by pijulius
To upgrade run upgrade-from-0.8-to-0.9.sql using phpMyAdmin on your DB and then overwrite your local files with the new ones from upgrade-from-0.8-to-0.9.tar.gz
NOTE: always backup your data/files before upgrading.


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By visiting on some popular website over the internet we have collected some good and useful resource for Creative web or graphic designers. This Elegant Collection contains Vector files or PSD file of Mockup and Free UI kit for use. These files are easy and free to download from their respective owners website. Below are the collective and links to ... Read More »
You are here: Home / Tag Archives: flat design


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The group who dreamed up the idea of giving homeless veterans a place to live and a supportive group of veterans around them, all in one place, didn't think it would ever happen.
The group who dreamed up the idea of giving homeless veterans a place to live and a supportive group of veterans around them, all in one place, didn't think it would ever happen.
"It was just on the wish list," said Dan Deguire, the secretary of the American Legion Veterans Housing Inc., when he started working with the group in 2005.
After seven years of wishing and more than a year's worth of work, the facility will open Monday. A ribbon-cutting and speeches will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the South Main Street, Jewett City, facility.
Deguire pointed out plaques installed this week, bearing the names of more than 50 donors, and honor plaques for more than 40 veterans whose families contributed in their names.
With just days left before it opens, it's still largely a volunteer effort. Volunteers have been in and out of the home all week, readying furniture, supplies and furnishings for the 18 apartments.
On Thursday, while TALVHI President Bill Czmyr led local veterans on a tour through the facility, Griswold High School students came in, armed with rags and cleaning supplies. They dusted countertops and cabinets and polished the wood in all 18 apartments.
While she scrubbed a windowsill, sophomore Monique Maynard said she volunteered because she wanted to help the veterans.
"They deserve to be treated good because they fought for our country," she said.
On Wednesday, volunteers from the Connecticut River East chapter of the Window Covering Association of America brought rods and drills to hang new drapes in apartment windows. The drapes were donated by the Waterford Hotel Group, but came much too large for the windows, past president of the association, Carol Twardowski-Heap, of Danielson, said. She and seven other members recut and resewed the yellow pinstriped material to fit the smaller windows of the veterans home.
"Some of the panels were so large that we cut the material for the panels, and could still make valances out of the rest," she said.
Furniture donated
The Waterford Hotel Group donated all the furniture — beds, couches, tables, chairs, lamps and artwork for 18 apartments.
CEO Len Wolman said it all came from two Hartford-area hotels that were being renovated. The timing made it a great fit for the group's charitable foundation, he said.
"This just seemed like a really worthy cause. Being veterans makes it that much more worthy," Wolman said. "We were very impressed with the plans for this facility. We felt this was something we had to support on a number of levels."
Helping Hands of Norwich is donating kitchen supplies, and the Interfaith Stitchers of Windham made quilts for each veteran's bed. The Jacques Cartier Club and Ladies Auxiliary of Jewett City donated televisions that will be installed this weekend.
"There's a lot of vets in this club, and especially to have something local, the first of its kind anywhere — it's a no-brainer to help out," French Club President Jeff Raymond said.
The facility will house 18 formerly homeless veterans. While the ribbon-cutting is Monday, veterans are still being selected by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. The first veterans are expected to move in at the end of the month or in early July, said Czmyr, TALVHI president. He said he doesn't know who the veterans are, but said they likely will be from Eastern Connecticut.
While the veterans aren't there yet, offices for the counselors and medical professionals who will provide support and training will be completed within a few days. Crews can focus on the American Legion meeting and dining rooms on the first floor, which have not been completed yet.


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Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) Continues to Organize and Fight against "Do Not Hire" List
Members and school staff joined with the Denver community recently to take a stand against the district's non-renewal and "do not rehire" policy. Over 220 teachers were put on the non-renewal list and an additional 80 were put on the "do not hire" list, preventing them from ever working in the district again. While most districts require egregious activity for an educator to land on these lists, this is not the case for Denver. The vast majority of the teachers who found themselves on one of these lists were probationary employees and individuals let go due to a reduction of staff in their buildings.
DCTA staff had recently begun piloting an advocacy hotline program, and as non-renewed members and individuals called in for advice they were encouraged to sign up to speak during the public comment section of May school board meeting. The final determination of "do not rehire" and non-renewals is at the School Board level. Word of mouth from the members who contacted the advocacy hotline spread like wildfire and members were convened a day prior to the school board meeting to prep for the upcoming meeting. Colleagues and parents, as well as members, were encouraged to speak during the meeting.
The public comments section of the meeting started at 6:00pm and went until 1:00am. Over 100 people spoke in 3 minute increments. As a result of the turnout and comments, the school board delayed – in mass – the approvals of the non-renewals. However, on the following Monday, only 2 out of the 220 were moved off the "do not rehire" list.
At this point, there is some change around the process being entertained; however, DCTA remains unclear of how the process is going to be revamped. Public pressure on the issue continued and a petition was placed on Change.org to ensure that the do no hire policy follows the state norms, that immediate rehire eligibility is granted to those who do not meet the qualifications for "do not rehire," and that a review with recommendations is made on the hiring recommendations raised at the May 20, 2013 board meeting. As of this story, the petition has over 2700 supporters and 60+ pages of comments of support and importance from teachers, community members, and parents.
DCTA continued by contacting the media to follow up on stories on Ed News and the Denver Post, informing them of the petition. They held a press conference on June 17th to continue public pressure on the district. They followed up that afternoon by delivering over 2700 petitions and a stack of public comments to the Board meeting. The final determination will be made Thursday the 20th.
Phone calls, meetings, online, and social media engagement will continue. This is not a new problem for Denver and they will continue to organize for a long-term solution to empower and mobilize the teachers and staff in Denver.
News coverage:


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CAMDENTON, Mo. — Nearly every year, Patsy Riley has gotten unsolicited offers for her house on Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks with its spectacular views of tree-lined bluffs and its ample shoreline, but she never wanted to leave. Now, she and hundreds of her neighbors wonder what will become of their homes after a federal agency declared that many structures built close to the lake may have to go.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, citing restrictions on private developments around dams, says thousands of residences, decks, patios and boathouses appear to encroach on land belonging to the hydroelectric project in violation of federal regulations.
The announcement has triggered panic in the area's lakefront communities and led to a growing battle among regulators, a utility company, land attorneys and the state's congressional delegation. Officials say they are searching for a way to settle the issue without mass evictions.
"We are mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore," said Riley, who has lived at the lake for more than 30 years and estimates about half of her neighborhood is threatened.
The dispute pits the government's rules for hydroelectric projects against the potential vagaries of land records and private transactions that go back more than 80 years. Riley and other property owners say they have legal deeds to their land that permitted construction. The agency says it has regulations protecting the lake's recreation, scenery and environment against development.
The winding, 93-mile-long Lake of the Ozarks was created in 1931 by the Bagnell Dam and Osage hydroelectric project, and has become a playground for water sports enthusiasts and vacationers. The thickly wooded shores and hills are dotted with houses, resorts and weekend cottages.
The problem with the lakefront property arose when Ameren Missouri, the power company that owns the project, applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a new 40-year license to operate the dam. A required shoreline plan noted that some structures had been built over time on some of the utility's property for the dam, in many cases when Union Electric Co., an earlier form of Ameren, was the owner. How the property was sold was not clear. But the utility had no problem with many of the structures.
FERC objected, however. "In the majority of cases, the existing non-conforming structure/encroachment should be removed in a timely manner and the site restored to its pre-existing conditions," the agency's ruling last summer said. For hardship cases, regulators said Ameren could propose allowing some homes to remain temporarily or could seek an adjustment in the property's boundaries.
Homeowners say the ruling leaves their property worthless.
Riley, a retired special education teacher, said the ranch-style house she bought 32 years ago was valued at about $350,000 but now would be impossible to sell. No matter what happens, Riley said, she is not leaving.
Other residents were so alarmed that, rather than watch a critical sixth game of the World Series featuring their beloved St. Louis Cardinals, hundreds turned out for a community meeting that lasted for hours.
The utility has proposed shifting the project's property boundaries to get many of the residences out of danger.
"It is difficult to understand how this collective drain on socioeconomics resources in this region — financial and otherwise — is justifiable, especially given current economic and housing market conditions," Ameren officials said in a brief filed recently with the federal agency.
A FERC spokeswoman declined to comment to The Associated Press. Previously, the agency told The Kansas City Star in a written statement that "FERC's role is to ensure that the licensee is following the terms of the license, and approve shoreline management plans. It is the responsibility of the licensee to carry out the terms and conditions of the license, including shoreline management plan."
Missouri's members of Congress have insisted that the agency reverse itself.
"It's outrageous, it's infuriating and it has got to be stopped," said Rep. Vicky Hartzler, whose district includes part of the lake.
Glenna Hulett, who has lived at the lake since 1958, said she loves her panoramic view but worries that her condo will be worthless unless FERC relents.
"We're basically sitting on an investment that you can't sell. It doesn't have any value," Hulett said. "It's an awful lot of uncertainty."
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Let's revisit the early 1980s. Picture yourself removed from all forms of technology that are now so familiar and seem to endlessly grow. We're talking Internet, texting, Blu-ray, and even modern day cable television. Now imagine that satellite television is the most exciting concept. Let's also imagine the thrill of recording and watching something on videocassette. Supposing you are one of the privileged few who has access to this technology, what would you choose to watch? Remember, you're now able, for the first time, to pull video feed from anywhere with this satellite into your home. How much would you want to devour with your own eyes and in what ways might it change the way you live?
I have something I want you to watch. Its name is Videodrome. Directed and written by David Cronenberg, it is a film with a philosophy about a mind-altering pseudo-program that has a philosophy of its own. James Woods plays Max Renn—the president of a small cable television channel that presents exclusive and mostly erotic content. His idea is simple: allow people to manifest their desires at home and, as a result, keep it off the streets. While working with his assistant he comes across segments of a pirated television show called Videodrome. In short, Videodrome is a near primitive display of unlucky souls who are tortured and/or raped, never to return onscreen. The simplicity and terror of the program is unlike anything he's ever seen. He wants to share this vision with his viewers, thus beginning a quest to find its source.Continue Reading


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A friend pursuing graduate work in museum studies sent this about the winner of this year's Brooking Prize, which is given by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) for excellence in creativity. Congratulations are in order for this very informative piece about the PNC SmartHome, published in Museum magazine and written by David Beach director, GreenCityBlueLake Institute, The Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
PNC SmartHome: An Inspirational Exhibit of Extreme Energy Efficiency and Carbon Reduction
The term "natural history" often evokes a sense of the past, but increasingly The Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH) is showing the way to a more sustainable future. In 2011, CMNH developed an ambitious exhibit, the PNC SmartHome, to demonstrate the energy-efficient house of the future—a house designed to stay warm through a Cleveland winter without a conventional furnace.
Planning for the SmartHome began in late 2010, when CMNH staff members were making preparations for mounting a major traveling exhibit on the science of climate change. They wondered what else they could do to communicate the complex and challenging issue of climate change. Could they do something hopeful to demonstrate real solutions? Could they, for instance, build a house that would show how dramatic reductions in carbon emissions are really possible? Could they find a suitable vacant lot for a house, design it, get the plans through the city permitting process and raise funds to build it all in a couple of months? Could they find a construction team that could build a house in a matter of weeks—a home that was different from any house built in Northeast Ohio? And could the house be built next to the museum as an exhibit and then moved later to the vacant lot where it could be installed permanently and sold?
Notwithstanding a certain amount of drama (including the rainiest spring construction season in Cleveland history), the answers to these questions turned out to be yes. And the PNC SmartHome opened at the museum for guided tours on June 6, 2011.
The project had a number of goals that stretched the boundaries of a typical museum exhibit:
- Give thousands of people hands-on experience with attractive techniques of green building and energy conservation.
- Build local capacity for advanced green building and raise building design standards in Cleveland.
- Support efforts of neighborhood development organizations to help residents save energy and save money.
- Broaden awareness of the climate change impacts of the building sector.
- Build a practical house that would be an asset for a Cleveland neighborhood.
For the energy performance goal, the 2,800-square-foot, three-bedroom SmartHome was designed to achieve Passive House certification, the world's most rigorous building energy standard. According to the U.S Passive House Institute: "A Passive House is a very well-insulated, virtually air-tight building that is primarily heated by passive solar gain and by internal gains from people, electrical equipment, etc. Energy losses are minimized. Any remaining heat demand is provided by an extremely small source. Avoidance of heat gain through shading and window orientation also helps to limit any cooling load, which is similarly minimized. An energy recovery ventilator provides a constant, balanced fresh air supply. The result is an impressive system that not only saves up to 90 percent of space heating costs, but also provides a uniquely terrific indoor air quality."
Because of their very low energy demands, most passive houses can achieve net-zero energy performance with the addition of a small amount of renewable energy generation. Thus, they are a major step toward building carbon-neutral communities. Buildings are responsible for nearly half of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, so strategies to reduce these emissions from carbon-based fuels must focus a great deal on producing better buildings.
For CMNH, the SmartHome project was a natural extension of public education and climate change work already underway. It turned abstract policy discussions into a tangible exhibit that helped people see the opportunities inherent in transitioning to a lowcarbon future. At a time when public opinion polls showed a declining understanding of climate science in the U.S., it was important to create educational experiences that helped mainstream audiences realize that dramatic reductions of carbon emissions were possible. While thousands of passive houses homes have been built in Europe, only a handful of them have been built in the U.S.—and none in Northeast Ohio. So the SmartHome—with its super-insulation, virtually air-tight construction, high-performance windows, energy-recovery ventilation and orientation for passive solar heat gain—brought new design ideas to the region.
As an exhibit, the SmartHome was a hit. Nearly 10,000 museum visitors went on guided tours. Tens of thousands of additional people viewed the interpretive signage and ecological landscaping features (including displays of native plants and stormwater management techniques) surrounding the house. And the project attracted extensive media coverage locally and nationally.
The SmartHome also created many partnership opportunities. The project involved more than 100 partners, including contractors, suppliers, neighborhood development organizations, the City of Cleveland and even local artists, who provided environmentally inspired artwork and furnishings for the exhibit. City residents from nearby neighborhoods were invited to free SmartHome tours and workshops on home energy savings. The SmartHome design-build team conducted technical workshops for local builders, architects, city officials, home inspectors and others in the home building industry. And CMNH staff worked with Enterprise Community Partners, a national funder of urban redevelopment and a supporter of the SmartHome, to organize a tour and roundtable discussion among Cleveland neighborhood groups about energy efficiency and affordable housing.
Inspired by the SmartHome, other building projects in Northeast Ohio are now incorporating passive design principles, including a new building for a community theater group. The project's design-build team is getting orders for more passive houses. The team is also exploring the feasibility of prefabricating insulated SmartHome wall systems for sale throughout the country. Thus, the project could have economic development spin-offs for Northeast Ohio.
According to the project architect, Chuck Miller of Doty & Miller Architects: "The PNC SmartHome has served as a catalyst that turns the wheels of curious minds and inspires entrepreneurs. The seeds of future opportunities are already starting to grow. We can see that future happening now with benefits to our economy, an improved quality of life and preservation of resources for future generations."
In October 2011, the SmartHome was moved to its permanent site a few blocks from CMNH. It will be sold and become the home of a Cleveland family. Thus, it will be a permanent investment in the revitalization of the city, as well as an enduring symbol of how a museum of natural history can be a center for innovative thinking about science and sustainability.
Principles of Passive House Design
The PNC SmartHome of The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is expected to consume 90 percent less heating and cooling energy than a conventional house (and about 70 percent less primary energy for all uses). It accomplishes this by following some basic principles:
Heat-retaining building shape.
The Smart- Home has a simple, rectangular shape to minimize the ratio of surface area to volume.
Super insulation.
The walls are more than a foot thick and are packed with foam and cellulose to achieve an insulation value of about R-50, according to the rating system that measures insulation's ability to resist heat flow. In comparison, Ohio's building code requires a minimum side wall insulation level of just R-13.
High-performance windows.
The triple-pane windows achieve R-11 insulation value in the center of the glass, and they close like a bank vault to stop cold drafts.
Air-tight construction.
All the holes and seams in the building envelope (the outer perimeter of the living space) have been carefully sealed. As a result, it's expected that the "draftiness" of the SmartHome will be less than 0.6 air changes per hour when measured by a pressurized blower door test. In comparison, a typical new house might have five air changes per hour, and a drafty old house might have rates as high as 10–15.
Thermal bridge-free construction.
It's amazing how much heat can be conducted through a piece of wood, such as a 2×4 stud in a wall. The walls in the SmartHome are designed to eliminate such thermal bridging with the strategic placement of insulation.
Heat-recovery ventilation.
An airtight house can develop indoor air quality problems if adequate ventilation is not provided. But when you vent stale air from a house, you also lose heat. So the SmartHome's ventilation system transfers the heat of the outgoing air to the incoming fresh air. The energy is transferred at 84 percent efficiency. As a result, the house has healthy fresh air with little energy penalty.
Efficient supplementary heating.
The SmartHome is designed to maintain temperature like a Thermos. The heating demand will be so low that the home needs no conventional furnace. Instead, the house can make it through the cold Cleveland winter with two small, ductless, air-source heat pumps, which require minimal energy. The heat pumps also provide supplementary cooling in the summer.
Optimal solar orientation and shading for passive solar gain.
The SmartHome was designed for a south-facing lot near Cleveland's University Circle district. The large windows on the south side allow sunlight to enter and warm the house during the colder months of the year. The windows are shaded so that during the summer, when the sun is higher in the sky, sunlight is blocked.
Energy-efficient appliances and lighting.
It makes no sense to build an extremely energyefficient house and then fill it with energy-hogging appliances and lighting. So the SmartHome features Energy Star appliances and extremely efficient LED lighting.
When you put all these design principles together, you get a house that is comfortable and quiet, has low energy costs and is simple to operate.


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HOT or NOT: team kit year in review
While these are all challenges kit designers face, some do a much better job than others. Some kits are outright hideous, others tolerable, and the rare few- hot.
As I was doing some very techinical research on google, trying to determine whether kits were hot or not, I had so few "hots" that I had to lower my standards. [Lowering standards seems to be the theme of 2007.] I revised my critia, so that a large number of people wouldn't get bad self-esteem from this post.
The old farts know how to do it. AMD kits tie in very nicely; the royal blue and black look nice together and the sponsorship placement is not overbearing. Years and years on the bike not only make cut calves as can be seen on the left, but also result in a keen sense of bike kit fashion.
While these kits could be a bit too patriotic for my taste, something about them works. They don't look that great when people are standing around, but in action, the dark blue and dark red create a commanding presence. Classy. The shorts are especially nice.
BPG/RH Villa
Green and red? At first, I'd say blech as it seems like a bad Christmas card, but these jersey just look good. Really good. Maybe it is just this ultra-sexy picture and non-masters men's hot legs. But I think it is really the hats. Those hats are really hot. Actually, maybe it is just all the glamor shot pictures on this website that make these kits looks so good, but no, i actually think these are pretty hot kits.
Cal Giant
Blech. Strawberries, I'm sorry, but these are hiddeous. That strawberry on the front looks dumb. The color looks terrible, it is just unattractive in general. A shame, because I think sponsoring a strawberry company, you could have made something really hot kits that was all red. These just look pretty cheesy.
This color scheme just sucks. There is way too much going on in this kit. Moreover, the font type stinks and I do not like where the sponsor's name is placed.
CRC Hill
I realize that when you are sponsoring some real estate company that sells multi-million dollar estates, you are trying to look classy, but in your attempt to look so classy, you just look like one big sissy. Dude, you are wearing spandex, this is not high society. A thin and dainty font like Garamond or whatever it is makes the riders look feeble and weak. The font needs to be beefed up and some more creative use of colors is needed.
Davis Bike Club
Please. This is just color overkill. That much of any color on a jersey would look stupid. Try some stripes or panels or something. Ugh.
Dolce Vita
When I first saw this jersey, I thought "cursive font?" that is dumb. But, I think these kits are quite attractive. The navy, orange, and white are quite complementary. I think the kit designer did a fine job of placing lots of sponosrs and still tying in a theme. Well done. Plus, this is a cute picture.
Eagle Racing
Lots of things can go on cycling jersies. Words, logos. Big pictures of eagles (or anything else for that matter) do not look good on a team kit. I will stick to my conviction that pictures are for commemorative jersies given out for completing a century, tour, or other such event...not for a team kit.
This is terrible. That speckled grey looks really stupid. Who thought the fade out was a good idea? And then that red? This has got to be one of the worst looking jersies in the NorCal peleton. I hear this team is changing sponosrs or something, so hopefully they will put some more care into designing this kit better.
This jersey isn't as terrible as some others (see above), but what pushed it to the not was thechecker board down the front. What's up with that? That is dumb. I know that cyclists race in circles a lot, but this is not the indy 500.
Left Coast
Sorry left coast; this jersey had potential being that it was green and could have done something interesting, as there aren't many green teams. But it just ruined it with that neon green trim. Eww! What were they thinking? Moreover, this jersey automatically got a not hot for the picture on the landscape and biker. This looks like a jersey you get for completing a century, not a team kit. I do not like pictures on team kits.
Los Gatos
I like red. I like yellow. But this red/yellow combo just doesn't do it. I think the overall design and triangle looks good; it is just the color scheme that is whack. They do a great job of putting lots of sponsors on the jersey in a logical fashion—I think if the color scheme was changed, this jersey might bump into the hot category.
I'm sorry, but I couldn't put polka dots in the "hot" category. Team kit designers can only design good looking team kits so long as the corporate sponsorship has a nice logo. The thing is, metromint has very nice looking products, a stellar website, and a great font type. I think if the polka dots were smaller—very tiny dots – instead of these big ones, that could be better. In addition, I don't like how the bibs tie into the jerseys.
Morgan Stanley
Looking at this jersey standing still, I think it is pretty boring. But it looks good on the bike, and that is the most important. There is nothing outright bad about this jersey. It is simple, nice colors, nice paneling...and, good enough. Hot? Well, I said I was lowering my standards. The Morgan Stanley team kit is like the "40 yr old marriage pact" you make with your best friend.
NorCal Velo
These look good. The colors go nicely together and the font is nice. I also think the jersey design is pretty solid. Nice short paneling also.
There is nothing outright that I can think of why I don't like this jersey; I just don't. Something about it rubs me the wrong way…but nothing I can pinpoint. Perhaps it is the arcs on the jersey. The thing is, it isn't nearly in the same category as EMC/Vellum-- it is quite borderline, but I am getting tired and so am being more picky. Whatever, the peninsula is full of graphic computer designers; they should have something off the hook.
This has got to be one of the best looking jersies. The baby blue looks great and the red just pops out so nicely in that cool font. I think the kit designer did a good job of placing everything and tying it together. Plus, these ladies just look like tough shit in this jersey when they are moving, and as gorgeous as anything on the podium. This jersey looks good both standing still and moving fast.
Yuck. Yeah, you'd think less is more with all this black, but this is just boring and there is nothing going on here. Some side panels are needed. Also, that big sun looks stupid. This logo should be tiny.
Roaring Mouse
Not only is this yellow the most hideous shade of yellow, but it looks dorky with that font. I'd suggest changing the yellow to less orange and change the off-color to grey, and then make a better font.
Rock Lobster
These are gross. Why would anyone think seafoam green was a good color? No. Pastels make people look weak. On principal I have to say this is an ugly kit.
San Jose Bike Club
Props to SJBC. There is nothing special about these jersies, but I think they are pretty good club jersies, with nice side paneling. Nothing fancy; basic, simple, and good.
Safeway HOT.
These look good—the bright white letters on black really bring things out. It was also a way to tie together logos that otherwise wouldn't have matched.
I don't know why, but I just don't like it. There are too many colors. The yellow and blue look silly together and there is too much white.
Squadra HOT.
This is one I would say I shouldn't like because of the yellow strip, but these actually look really good in action. I think the paneling and use of black accents is done extraordinarily well.
Team Oakland
These look good. I like the coloring, minus that blue font in the middle with kaiser permemente. Something needs to be done about this. But, the orange and white works well, and the paneling design is aces.
This are very, very attractive jersies. The lettering looks good and the light color is very hot on these ladies.
There isn't anything going on. It is so plain. The royal blue just sits there, blah. It just needs some sort of excitement, some sort of design, some panels, something.
Value Act
These are great looking jersies. At first you might think red, white, & blue? But it doesn't matter- these are wonderfully designed and makes me think these ladies are even hotter! This is a perfect jersey to contrast with touchstones: same colors, but look at the superior use of accents and paneling, espectially on key areas like the their and biceps.
I'm sorry, but a huge kitty on the front doesn't make me think I'll kick ass, regardless of the logo say. Or that pink plaid version kit, that is even worse. I think that looks silly. Why didn't you just make these jersies in baby tee's? I am traditionalist and I do not like big logos on the chest.
Velo Bella
I just don't like pictures. Like above, a picture of girl riding a bike, much like a cat, doesn't seems to make for a hardcore jersey. I much prefer use of font and paneling for accents, not pictures.
Velo Girls
No picture, but the hot pink is just so obtrusive it makes me think this is a junior high team.
The font is just too much. I think that there needs to be more work on the paneling; it is too plain. This jersey attempted to do well, but I think it just came up short. More needs to be going on, especially on the front.
These are great looking jersies….but only on the women's team. I don't know why, but I think they look silly on men, but great on women. Perhaps the green is a smigen darker on the men's kits? Perhaps the big WEBCOR across the chest only looks good on breasts? I dunno, but this hot is only for YYs.
Disclaimer: I had glasses and braces until 8th grade; wore tapered leg jeans (before skinny jeans were cool) until 11th grade, was in the marching band, and owned enough Christmas sweatshirts made out of puffy paint that i could wear a different one to school for two weeks before Christmas.


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Collectively, Prince and Michael Jackson helped define the early '80s era of MTV, revolutionized both R&B and popular music, and influenced thousands of musicians worldwide. The Prince and Michael Experience is meant to celebrate the music of two of the biggest pop cultural icons of our generation – a celebration carried out with love and mutual respect for both artists.
The music is far from the only thing happening at this party. There's theme dancing, a face-off between guests repping The Purple One or The King of Pop, and much, much more. This is the perfect night out to lounge with your friends, make some new friends, get your drink on, dance your ass off, and have the time of your life. Prince and Michael Jackson fans go toe-to-toe on the dance floor as DJ Dave Paul from San Francisco mixes album cuts, remixes, rare tracks, and hits from the two artists.
Dave Paul began his music career in 1984, starting as a mobile DJ and evolving into a prominent college radio and club DJ remixer in San Francisco. During the late '80s and early '90s, his weekly radio show Beat Box Fridays on college radio station KCSF was instrumental in breaking many hip-hop records in the Bay Area market. Utilizing various pseudonyms, Paul has produced records and created the world's first scratch tool for digital DJs, The Ultimate Scratch CD. In 1991 he launched the now-legendary publication The Bomb Hip-Hop Magazine, and in 1995 he transformed the magazine into a record label. The label's Return of the DJ series was ranked by Spin Magazine as No. 25 in its 90 Greatest Albums of the '90s list. Paul has been featured in URB Magazine and XLR8R, has appeared on the front cover of Billboard, and was featured in the motion picture Scratch (2001). He has DJed throughout the US, toured Europe and the UK, released over 100 projects on his record label, and currently produces themed DJ parties, including the Prince and Michael Experience, which has been packing houses for a decade.
The Prince and Michael Jackson Experience »
The Prince and Michael Jackson Experience @ Facebook »


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[Intro: Ol' Dirty Bastard]
Remember when we was young
And we used to go
(Ahhhhhhhhhh) *repeated*
Ah, Punch Call!
No no, remember when we used to say who could do this the longest
(Ahhhhhhhhh) *repeated*
*breaks down*
Ahhhh!!!!!!!! ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!
All right, I'm about to put it
Goin down, down
[Verse 1: Ol' Dirty Bastard]
I am the U-N-I, The Q-U-E, the G to the O-D
I said I go by the unforgettable name of the man called Unique G
Well, my name is known all over the world
To the foxy ladies and the pretty girls
I go down in history
As the baddest brother that ever could be
You couldn't show me
Didn't know me
How to be a true MC
My advantage on the M-I-C is the slang
That I manifest so you could never hang
Obviously you know my name by now
I done thrown stupid parties all through your town
Dirt McGirt...that's my motherfucking name
Love to flirt...that's my motherfucking game
They said "Who wanna be an MC?"
I am the original G-O-D
Making young ladies scream's my specialty
See my style, different from yours
Make young bitch wanna drop the drawers
[Interlude: Icelene Jones]
Fuck that bullshit Unique
You my motherfucking husband
I ain't got no motherfucking time for them bitches
You better come home with me
You better bring your motherfucking ass home tonight, motherfucker
I ain't got no motherfucking time for no bitches calling my motherfucking house with that bullshit
You got three fucking babies to take care of
Fuck that shit
[Interlude: Ol' Dirty Bastard]
Matter of fact, I gotta song for you all:
[Verse 2: Ol' Dirty Bastard]
Style funky, you know dat's me
KILLER BEE whohoho ONE MAN ARMY
Down for mine when I go on tour
Throw your hands in the air if you want more
Style is evil is like an wicked witch
With the mi-ca-phone spliggh! Funky as a bitch
Which is which, makes me nasty nasty
Next on the mic is the rappin NUH
You want some of the Ason's gun
Shoot the nigga, BLAAOW, reaches no one
Then you KNOW not to touch my HOE


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Women's Clothing
Tailored constructions and bold contrasting textural combinations are the focus of the new Ready-to-Wear wardrobe of the Trussardi woman. The SS20 Collection is versatile, multi-faceted and multi-functional, designed to easily adapt to everyday needs and outfits. A mix of full colours and colour-block geometric detailing allow you to create a new feminine look every day.
Creativity and style are the inspiration behind the new SS20 Trussardi Jeans Women's Ready-to-Wear Collection. It represents a woman's wardrobe that plays around with layered prints and new animal patterns, jacquard weaves and metallic details on extra-light fabrics with flowing lines. The colour palette ranges from warm sandy tones to bright gemstone hues.
Sophie 208 jeans in soft grey denim€ 139,00 € 69,00Sale -50%
Classic 130 jeans in Black Power denim€ 99,00 € 49,00Sale -51%


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Price Range
Was €149.00
Now €119.20
Was €159.00
Now €127.20
Was €169.00
Now €135.20
Was €179.00
Now €143.20
Was €179.00
Now €143.20
Was €199.00
Now €159.20
Was €149.00
Now €119.20
Was €169.00
Now €135.20
Was €179.00
Now €143.20
Now €59.00
Now €319.00
Kitchen Cookware
Other than a decent spoon for the kitchen, your saucepan will be the most popular item in the whole kitchen. Yet all saucepans, regardless of the price or quality, need the proper care in order for them to last longer than a Christmas dinner or two. For those of us who have thrown our care guides into the bin long ago, Anthony Ryans has some advice on how you can care for your valued saucepan.
We keep many saucepans in the kitchen, thus our first tip is to ensure that the saucepan you use matches up to the hob you cook with for example if you have an induction ready hob then you must ensure that your saucepan sets are induction suitable. Also, keep the heat-setting on 'medium' instead of 'high' when cooking most foods. A high heat may cook faster, but food will also stick to the pan faster.
What utensils do you use with your saucepan? If you have been scraping your non-stick saucepans with metal spatulas and forks, then you are being a very bad cook indeed. Metal scrapes non-stick coating off the surface as if it were a coat of tinfoil, so avoid! Use silicon spatulas or wooden spoons on your precious saucepans.
If you have baked-on food, and wish to remove it sans scraping, then simply add a tablespoon of baking soda into a saucepan filled halfway with water. Boil this mixture and let it simmer for twenty minutes or so. The burned food will then lift from the saucepan with ease. Once the grease is gone, rub the interior with oil after washing and drying it. This will keep your saucepan looking like it just rolled off the assembly line.
At Anthony Ryans, the saucepans we supply are meant to last for many years. If you follow these simple guidelines, you will be able to achieve longevity with ease.


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Top Leagues
All Leagues
Watch Liverpool vs Leeds 4 - 3
Start date: 12 Sep 20 at 16:30
Liverpool and Leeds were in action in tonight's football match in the Premier League but if you missed it,you can watch the match highlights on nowgoal.eu in high quality. Watch all the important events for this football match in HD and don't forget to leave your comments in the commentary section below the video!
This video is provided and hosted from a 3rd party server
Hosted by cc.sporttube.com
Leave a comment below!


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Books & Materials
Newsletter Archive
Home, Garden, and DIY
July 2017
"Sometimes the best thing you can do is call it a loss and start over. Or order some pizza. It's okay. It's just dinner -- you'll get another chance tomorrow."
~ from Samin Nosrat's
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
Recent Releases
Good Veg: Ebullient Vegetables, Global Flavors -- A Modern Vegetarian Cookbook
Alice Hart
In this "veritable master class in meat-free cookery" (
), readers will find 200 globally inspired, boldly flavored recipes that put vegetables (preferably fresh and in-season) front and center. C
hapters (titled Mornings, Grazing, Quick, Thrifty, Gatherings, Grains, Raw-ish, Afters, and Store Cupboard) include recipes like
Tarka Dal Soup,
Winter Cabbage Rolls,
Cashew and Coconut Bites, and
Pear and Rosemary Tarts. With an emphasis on contrasting flavors, anyone trying to eat more veggies will find tasty new dishes to love in
Good Veg
Stitching with Beatrix Potter
Michele Hill
Ranging from sophisticated to totes adorbs, the ten projects in this book have something for every Beatrix Potter fan (including a version of an 1863 wedding quilt, a Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle iron cover, and a wool felt ball for children). S
tep-by-step instructions and detailed photographs help novices and experienced folks alike. The charming book also includes a short biography of Potter, templates, and tips for machine applique, binding, and hand embroidery.
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking
Samin Nosrat; illustrated by Wendy MacNaughton
This is not your typical cookbook. Yes, it includes recipes, but it's more like a (fantastic) cooking course in a book. Using an approach she's perfected over the years, acclaimed chef Samin Nosrat explains four basic elements -- salt, fat, acid, and heat -- that will cut your apron strings to recipes. Complemented by lovely watercolor art,
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
just might be to cookbook of the year. Want more books about cooking science? Try J. Kenji López-Alt's
The Food Lab
, Harold McGee's
On Food and Cooking
, and various Cook's Illustrated guides.
Homegrown Pantry: A Gardener's Guide to Selecting the Best Varieties & Planting...
Barbara Pleasant
If you've ever grown too much zucchini and not enough tomatoes
and wondered how to store food for the winter
, this book is for you. Experienced gardener Barbara Pleasant explains how (and how much) to grow in order to stock a pantry year-round. Providing growing information about a wide-variety of vegetables, fruits, and herbs, she also explains canning, drying, freezing, cold storage, and fermenting. Chock full of detailed instructions and lovely photographs, this book will especially appeal to those who crave self-sufficiency.
Bangkok: Recipes and Stories from the Heart of Thailand
Leela Punyaratabandhu; photography by David Loftis
Sharing memories of growing up in Bangkok as well as some of the city's food history, Leela Punyaratabandhu grounds readers in what makes this city so special -- and then she provides 120 authentic recipes that will transport your taste buds there. Featuring Hot and Sour Fish Soup,
Steamed Dumplings with Chicken-Peanut Filling, Fried Bananas, Coconut Rice Pudding Cakes, and more, the book also has notes on how to make ingredients or where to find them and is accompanied by gorgeous photographs of the dishes and the city itself.
Backyard Projects
Audubon Birdhouse Book: Building, Placing, and Maintaining Great Homes for Great Birds
Margaret A. Barker and Elissa Wolfson
While it's true that birdhouses make fun craft projects and cute garden decorations, this well-researched book favors function over fashion. Here, anyone can learn how to construct and place specialized birdhouses for over 20 North American species of birds, including waterfowl and raptors. The birdhouse designs cover all skill levels, and each includes easy-to-follow blueprints, cut lists, and photographic instructions. This appealing, practical guide offers all the clarity of
Popular Woodworking'
Birdhouses You Can Build in a Day
, but with the scientific, bird-centered perspective you'd expect from the National Audubon Society.
The Backyard Homestead Book of Building Projects
Spike Carlsen
In this wide-ranging volume, carpenter Spike Carlsen shares his expertise in crafting sustainable, DIY outdoor structures. Experienced builders can jump right in to projects like the Two-Wheel Cart or the Top Bar Beehive, while beginners may want to start with the Flowerpot Smoker or the Lawn Bag Stand until they feel more comfortable with the required tools and skills, all of which are described in accessible terms. Visual learners will especially appreciate the exploded diagrams of each project. Whether you're a dedicated homesteader or just looking for eco-friendly backyard projects, you'll be well served by
The Backyard Homestead Book of Building Projects
Handmade Garden Projects: Step-By-Step Instructions for Creative Garden...
Lorene Edwards Forkner
Providing creative ideas as well as instructions for 30 projects (with plant suggestions!),
Handmade Garden Projects
helps readers who appreciate whimsy spruce up their yard. Encouraging the reuse of items when possible (an old wooden ladder makes a great trellis), the author details making Urban Cowgirl Pavers, Portable Bamboo Edging, a Stacking Herb Tower, Temporary Turf Tattoos, a Simple Backyard Firepit, a Table-Top Knot Garden, and more. Photographs help guide readers and provide more inspiration.
Touch a Butterfly: Wildlife Gardening with Kids
April Pulley Sayre
While some try to keep wildlife
of their gardens, author April Pulley Sayre suggests that families with kids should do the opposite. Taking a bit-by-bit approach to creating an appealing garden habitat for animals (such as birds, butterflies, bees, deer, and more), Sayre offers hands-on activities that kids can achieve, like observing which animals already live nearby, and then experimenting with plants, water, and shelter to see what entices those animals most. Bursting with fascinating eco-facts and savvy tips for encouraging kids to go outdoors,
Touch a Butterfly
is a great pick for families wanting to get into nature.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin St.
San Francisco, California 94102


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Evolution Hoax
We will overturn their hearts and sight, just as when they did not believe in it at first, and We will abandon them to wander blindly in their excessive insolence. ( Surat al-An'am, 6:110)
We cannot know Allah and grasp the purpose of our existence if we lack knowledge about the religion with which He is pleased. Moreover, we cannot understand the divine purposes behind the creation of the universe and its countless inhabitants, life, death, the Hereafter, Paradise, Hell, angels, and Satan on our own. Many people live and die in heedlessness. However, if Allah places faith in our hearts, we find all of the answers to these questions. Allah then purifies our hearts and makes us sincere toward the religion. A person who used to be hostile to religion starts to be positive toward religion; one who used to ignore His commands begins to adhere to them meticulously and remembers Him continuously. Likewise, they start to thank Allah frequently for the blessings that they have received. Whereas before they disregarded the signs of Allah's existence, as well as His favors, mercy, and compassion, they now recognize all of these. In brief, sincere believers are like those people who wake up from sleep, for Allah moves them from unbelief to belief by placing faith in their hearts.
Just as Allah grants faith, He can remove it whenever He wills. Having faith depends upon remembering Allah, for only a heart that submits itself to Allah can find guidance. Unbelievers, lost in their delusions, cannot see or recognize the clear signs of Allah's existence all around them. In many verses, Allah states that such people's hearts are covered in such a way that they cannot grasp the truth:
Who could do greater wrong than someone who is reminded of the Signs of his Lord and then turns away from them, forgetting all that he has done before? We have placed covers on their hearts, preventing them from understanding it, and heaviness in their ears. Though you call them to guidance, they will nonetheless never be guided. ( Surat al-Kahf, 18:57)
Unbelievers sometimes admit that they cannot understand religion's message. The people of Prophet Shu'ayb (as) is a clear example:
They said: "Shu'ayb, We do not understand much of what you say, and we see that you are weak among us…" (Surah Hud, 11:91)
If one's heart is veiled and Allah hinders comprehension, then they can never be guided unless Allah wills otherwise. Allah calls attention to this, as follows:
Among them there are some who listen to you. But can you make the deaf hear, even though they cannot understand? Among them there are some who look at you. But can you guide the blind, even though they cannot see? (Surah Yunus, 10:42-43)
Allah causes the heart of those who desire faith and closeness to Him to yield to His remembrance and unites them with other Muslims. Meanwhile, He turns the hearts of those who are insincere toward unbelief. He has the power to turn the heart of anyone He wills at any time, and no one can change a heart that Allah has covered.2009-08-19 11:19:54


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Winter Talk – Model Yachts
Wednesday, January 22 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Download Sailing Instructions 2019 – for all club races here.
Download White Sail Allowance form – here.
While every care is taken to ensure this information is correct, in the event of any unexplained discrepancy, the Sailing Calendar takes precedence over the events calendar.
This table below shows boatman's hours, and tides.
To search for a particular month or day of the week, type the date – e.g. 23-Mar – or day – e.g. Tue – into the search field.